Xing Bairong
Xing Bairong (星 白龍; 싱 바이롱 Sing Bailong) originally known as Yue Bairong (月 白龍; 유에 바이롱 Yue Bailong) is a deuteragonist of the Witch Hunter series and is an A-Class Natural WH, although currently serving as the Emperor of Bairong. He switched identities with his brother, Yue Bairong (the real Xing Bairong) while he was a Prince of the Bairong Empire four years ago. He is part of the Unnamed Team with his good friends Tasha, Tarras and Halloween. Appearance Xing is a tall, blue-haired young man of 20 years. His haircut is short, although he had a ponytail when he was a prince, which he later cut off. He usually wears a WH A-Class uniform with the standard trench coat and a pair of black combat pants with a black zippered vest, cut high to show the majority of his abdomen (in the beginning of the story, he wore a white shirt, dress pants, and a tie instead of the combat pants and vest). He has a scar on his stomach suffered due to an attempted assassination after he was chosen to be the next emperor. In addition, he wears a pair of finger-less black gloves and a pair of sunglasses, which he is rarely seen without during the main story line. After becoming Emperor of Bairong, Xing wears a ruqun just as his brother did. Personality Xing is a very easy-going person, often cracking jokes and not taking life seriously. He is good friends with Tarras and Tasha, and often patronizes the latter, treating him almost like he does to the women he meets, much to Tasha's frustration. He adores sunglasses and women, and is often in trouble for his unwanted advances on women, making him a bit of a player and smooth talker. When in combat with female witches, he usually speaks to them as if they were going on a date or in a relationship, asking them if they'd like to "take it slow". However, in battle, he's far more serious and focused, and retains a great deal emotion for his homeland of Bairong and his brothers Yue and Lee. He is very intelligent even when a prince, he skipped classes and training, but still mastered moves that were thought only an emperor could master. He cares deeply for his brothers. Knowing that as princes, one of them would be the next emperor while the other two will leave the country. He never wanted to be the emperor in the first place and was going to be happy with either one of his brothers becoming the emperor. He even wanted to leave the country when the next emperor is chosen. Despite knowing that Lee destroyed a large area of Bairong Empire, he couldn't bear the idea of killing his brother. Following the death of Yue by Lee's hand, Xing vowed to carry his brother's name forever and kill Lee in vengeance. Story History Yue (name during that time) was the most talented of the three Bairong princes. He was taught by Visul during the time he was a prince, although he skipped many of his classes. He was the most skilled, but the most lazy as well, compared to his domineering and moderately powerful brother Lee, and his compassionate but weaker brother Xing. During the Ceremony of the White Dragon, Yue was picked as the next successor to the Bairong Imperial Throne. Lee and his attendant, Eunwon, both desired Lee to be emperor, and when the Emperor tricks them into thinking they were supported by him, they orchestrate an attack on Yue, using elements of the Bairong military and armed forces to take out Yue, as well as using Xing's unsuspecting teacher who wanted Xing to be emperor, Jang-Chun. Jang leads the first assault with elite Martial Arts Priests, but Yue defeats them all, and leaves Jang tired and cornered. At that point, Eunwon, as the deputy head of the Royal Security Guard, executes Jang for "gravely wounding Imperial Crown Prince Yue," revealing his plan to let Jang attack Yue, then after Yue had been weakened by Jang's forces, kill Yue and say the prince had died by Jang's hand. Since Jang was the attendant of Prince Xing, the weakest brother would also be executed, leaving Lee the sole heir to the throne. Eunwon and his forces kill all of Jang's men and engage Yue in combat once more, beginning with Eunwon giving Yue a slash to his stomach which later heals in a visible scar. Eunwon is almost defeated when Yue uses Shinsok, the final and more power stage of the Bairong Chi Martial Arts styles. But, he is stopped by Lee, who arrives also using Shinsok. The two princes battle, as Lee says it is now his duty to kill Yue. Lee initially is winning, but Yue gains the upper hand with the ultimate attack of Shinsok, Kaizer Fist, wounding him gravely as well as blinding Lee's right eye. Even so, it is underdeveloped, as noted by the Emperor, who descends upon the scene as Yue tells Eunwon and Lee to leave quickly. The Emperor executes Eunwon when the attendant attacks him, after the Emperor reveals that he had lied to Lee and Eunwon in order to gather and destroy those that are against the White Dragon's decision. Yue threatens to commit suicide in order to protect Lee from the Emperor's hand. The Emperor then reveals the truth of the multiple identities that the White Dragon bestows, consisting of 50 former Bairong Emperors from the last 5000 years. He says that majority of them like Yue over Xing, so the Emperor won't let Yue die, and leaves. The day of coronation finally arrives, but Lee has already fled the empire. The last two triplets, Yue and Xing, stand on a private balcony, discussing the coronation and how Jang and Lee had left. However, Yue implements a plan to fulfill the two brothers' goals. He draws a dagger, initially inciting fear in Xing, and slashes off Xing's short side pony tail. Yue then cuts off his own larger ponytail so the both have the identical short hair, the only way to tell them apart being Yue's distinctive scar. At this point, Xing and Yue switch identities, so Yue becomes Xing (later an A-Class WH), and Xing becomes Yue (the new Emperor). Xing and his attendant, Visul leave Bairong to seek their fortune, and eventually join the West WH Central HQ, where the main story line begins. The Red Witch Arc Xing responds to Tasha's call for help in order to deal with his younger sister, a witch, Aria. After he arrives, Tasha complains about getting the "wrong package", dissatisfied by getting paired up with Xing. After finding out that Tarras was already at their destination to deal with the "Red Witch", they immediately raced off. Upon arrival, they witnessed the destruction caused by the fight and Tarras' overall defeat. After hearing that Aria is Tasha's sister, Xing tries to remind him that as WHs, their job is to hunt her down, however Aria immediately blasts him away for interrupting their conversation. He bounced back, using his Shinsok to strike Aria into a wall. After seeing her easily recover from his attack Tasha informs Xing of the fact that each of her two Supporters is as powerful as an A-Class WH, thus she can't be defeated by any one A-Class. Aria notes that just two would also not suffice, but Tarras recovers and joins the duo in battle against her. After destroying her two supporters, Tasha drugs both of his teammates. After Xing wakes up and Varete attacks Tasha, Xing describes to Tarras the dangers of Tasha's Eagle Colt Custom as they watch the battle unfold. Following this, Xing and Tarras follow Tasha to Mountainville. Monica Arc Xing along with Tarras and Tasha stop of at an inn to rest. There Tasha is robbed by Monica. When Vanir Gullveig reveals herself, Xing and Tarras become puppets to her due to Vanir's supporter. Both Xing and Tarras attack Tasha and Halloween, although they managed to fend him off. Only after Monica awakens her witch powers is he able to move freely. On the train ride back to West HQ, Xing, Tarras, Monica and Tasha end up in the same cabin. It is revealed that Central has put Xing, Tarras and Tasha in the same team. Xing offers Tasha a seat next to him, to which Tasha asks why he isn't asking the girl, Monica. Xing replies because she is "as flat as a board", much to the outrage of Monica. Tasha ends up sitting next to Xing, although he was tranquilized. The Other Magic Marksman Arc Xing is seen sitting next to Tarras and Monica during Tasha's trial. Amos is surprised to see Tarras and Xing sitting together and is even more surprised by the formation of the Unnamed Team. Xing meets with Diana Basil soon after, where it is revealed that he is the Emperor of Bairong. Xing and Tarras are dispatched to collect Elmar Hyacinth and bring her to West HQ. Inadvertently, they end up saving her life and defeating the witch that killed Elmar's team. They escort her back to West HQ. The Knight and Rose Arc During the meeting about Bairong and Britain's plea for help and seeing the destruction of Bairong by Lee, Xing immediately asks to be dispatched to the east, Bairong Empire. When it was revealed that Xing will pair up with Tarras on his trip to Bairong, the two of them are dissatisfied with the pairing and complained to Vihyungrang. Bari, Vihyungrang's spirit assistant ended up blasting both Xing and Tarras into a wall. On the train ride to Bairong, Xing managed to defeat some witches from Sabrina Rose's team. When Rose revealed herself, Xing charged at her but was stopped by Tarras' Earth Wall, saving him from being sliced up by Rose's petals. He cooperated in a team in giving Tasha time when Tasha was using Song of Moirae. He along with his teammates were also trying protect Tasha from both Ryuhwan and Neptis after he was recoiled from receiving so much mana. Deception in Bairong Arc When Xing and Tarras arrive at the capital of the Bairong Empire, they find it sacked and burning. Xing dashes over to the palace, where he runs into Lee, who tells him that he has killed Yue. A fight then breaks out between the two, with Lee gaining the upper hand. Lee continues to provoke Xing until he is prompted to fight at full power, where Lee first experiences Xing's bloodlust; which makes Lee shudder. For the first time in the battle, Xing gains an overwhelming advantage over Lee. When the two are about to exchange blows once again, Yue appears and separates the two, followed by Yue strangling Xing, choking him with one hand against a large pillar. Yue then tells Xing the reason for his desire to kill and tells him the result of this is what led him to acquire the power of the white dragon. At that moment Lee shows up declaring Yue to be their father. Lee explains to Xing the difference in Ki that his father and Yue have. After Lee proves this fact true, their father gleefully admits this and states how happy he'll be to see his sons die by Yue's hands. With this Xing demands his father to leave Yue's body and the three commence in a match which is ended quickly with their father overpowering the two brothers. Their father then proceeds on telling Xing the destruction of Bairong was Xing's fault completely and he asks Xing to accept the dragon. Xing again demands their father to free Yue but upon realizing their was no way to save Yue, he comments that the punishment for wanting to help his brother achieve his dream was too cruel. His father continues on about how he will repeat this whole process of destruction in Yue's body, with this Yue starts crying and Xing attempts to grant his brother his final wish; death. Though he uses Kaisers fist, Xing couldn't bring himself to kill his brother and deliberately misses the shot. Without any power left Xing is unable to do anything but watch with tears in his eyes as Lee shows up and kills Yue. In despair Xing screams at Lee, as Lee is about to kill Xing, Visul shows up and protects Xing. Once Lee and the other witches leave, Xing vows to avenge Yue by killing Lee. He then promises to continue living in Xing's name, stating that he will make sure that Xing is remembered as the greatest Emperor of Bairong's 5,000 year history. It is later revealed by Visul that Xing stayed behind in Bairong and will return once the situation in Bairong calms down. Invasion Arc As Emperor of Bairong, Xing offers his assistance to the WH expedition heading south. Powers and Abilities Chi Techniques: Xing was trained by the best of the Bairong Empire's martial arts priests, learning to master the three levels: Shinbo, Shunchuk, and Shinsok, though the final level has some echelons of power he has not yet accessed. His attack style consisting of incredibly fast movements and strikes using chi-reinforced punches, kicks, and other martial arts strikes. The downside to his almost unavoidable power is those who can react and perceive his attack can counter it. *'Shinbo' (신보 Sinbo; Release): The first stage of Chi control. It draws out a small amount of the user's Chi, and universally taught through the Bairong Empire. *'Shinchuk' (신축 Sinchug; Elasticity): The second stage of Chi control. It draws out a maximum of 30% of the user's Chi, and is taught only to the highly skilled elites of the Bairong Empire. *'Shinsok' (신속 Sinsog; Swift): The third and final stage of Chi control, which draws 100% of the user's power. It can only be used by geniuses that has skills that are emperor worthy. **'Kaiser Fist' (패왕붕권 Paewangbung-gwon): The only named technique so far using Shinsok, it consists of concentrating an incredible amount of Chi in a single fist, and releasing it in a punch. When properly used, it has the power to level entire city districts. It has been given the title, "Ultimate King Fistblow", because of its immense power, a power that only the most skilled Chi users can access. **'Enhanced Speed': Using the Chi techniques, Xing can reach blinding speeds that can only be countered by better masters of speed and Chi or mana usage. He often surprises his opponents by appearing right next to them in an instant, then defeating them in a single blow. This is the source of his nickname, Swift Fist. However, it is noted by Lee that this speed has a key weakness: The user cannot change his destination once it has been chosen, although Xing has probably overcome this already. **'Enhanced Strength': Using Chi, Xing's attacks can do damage not possible with ordinary strength. Master Hand to Hand Combatant: Trained in Bairong, Xing has learned and mastered all the martial arts styles from the Bairong Empire. Immense Chi Reserve: Xing's Chi was considered Emperor-worthy by the White Dragon, and was able to use Shinsok, which requires remarkable amounts of Chi energy to use and battle with on a regular level. Equipment WH Uniform: Invented by Edea Florence, this set of clothing is given to all ordinary members of the organization. The uniform runs on mana and won't function if it runs out of it. The functions the uniform possesses are: *'Memory-lapse Fibers' (망각의 섬유 Mang-gag-ui Seom-yu): Normal people won't notice the wearer unless the WH purposely attracts the individuals attention. This won't work on witches or fellow WHs. *'Class Selection': The uniform grades the WH based on their strengths and assigns them to their class. The class is shown by the color of the uniform. *'Protection': The clothing offers low level protection against attacks that are both physical and magical. *'Repair': It will repair itself using the mana stored within it. *'Emblem' (문장 Munjang): Every A/S-Class WH is attributed with an unique insignia which is on the emblem. The emblem allows others to guess a certain facts about the wearer's life or abilities. Xing's emblem is the Yin Yang symbol. Visul chose this symbol of the universe as his talisman. Even though Xing ignores it, his abilities are based on the Yin Yang law.Cho, Jung-man (2008). Witch Hunter Manhwa: Volume 5: Extras. Ki-oon. ISBN 978-2-35592-045-5 Relationships Tasha Godspell Xing and Tasha get along well. Tasha is the only man Xing actually likes and Xing has a caring obsessive brotherly side when it comes to Tasha (something that really gets on Tashas' nerve). Xing enjoys going on missions with Tasha and even prefers Tasha over flat chested girls. Lee Bairong The two brothers are not on good terms. Lee and Xing had a really close relationship as children though that changed after Xing was to become emperor. Lee's desire to become emperor was more important than his brothers life and decides to try and kill Xing. Despite this, Xing still cared for Lee and wanted his brother to keep living. Xing continued to care for Lee until Lee killed Yue. Now Xing vows to kill Lee in order to avenge Yue. Yue Bairong Xing cares greatly for his younger brother. As kids they got along and Xing even switched places with Yue so that Yue can accomplish his dream. After Yue's body gets taken over by their father, Xing couldn't bear killing Yue even if it's what Yue wanted. Xing still loves his brother very much, he promised to avenge Yue and continue living in his name in order to make his brother remembered as the greatest Emperor in Bairong's history. Trivia *Yue, in Hanja symbol, means moon. His last name, Bairong, means White Dragon. *The author intended him to be Tasha's rival, but he went through some abnormal changes over the series. He was to be the brotherly figure to Tasha and was naturally glued to him. However the author felt that making him an reliable figure would give an awkward, heavy air to him, so after some light alterations he became the character that he is now. *According to his character profile, his hobby is collecting sunglasses, he likes sexy girls with hot bodies but he dislikes men (except Tasha).Cho, Jung-man (Trans.) (2006). Witch Hunter Manhwa: Volume 2: Character Profile. Super Champ. ISBN 978-89-252-3466-3 * Xing is actually an ordinary person in general, but possess and incredible strength when he makes his Chi explode.Cho, Jung-man (2009). Witch Hunter Manhwa: Volume 6: Q&A. Ki-oon. ISBN 978-2-35592-053-0 *His alias "Flash Fist" (신속의 권) is derived from his technique Shinsok (신속, Swift). *Xing's Zodiac sign is Aquarius. References Navigation Category:Male Category:Bairong Category:Witch Hunter Category:Characters